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No More Mindless Runbys
Below are the ten newest releases from Big "E" Productions in both DVD-R and VHS format.

Canadian National's Western Manitoba Mains DVD

This program shows the trains and operations on both of Canadian National’s main lines in western Manitoba – the transcontinental main line through Rivers and around Dauphin on CN’s secondary main line known as their Prairie North Line that diverges from the main line at Portage La Prairie, just west of Winnipeg.  CN is arguably the western hemisphere’s leading railroad with by far the lowest operating ratio of any class I railroad in the U. S. or Canada.  In 2000 CN began lengthening their sidings on their transcontinental main line between Winnipeg and Edmonton and today CN runs some of the longest freight trains on this continent between those two cities on what was once nicknamed the Bee Line across the prairie.  This program shows twenty-four hours of action on CN’s Rivers Subdivision west of Rivers between Arrow River and a point just east of Uno where CN’s main line drops down into the Assiniboine River Valley.  This well-engineered track is traversed by a growing number of containers out of the Ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert, and oil from Alberta headed to both the States and to eastern Canada, and the train count has grown on this busy line.  The second part of this program shows several trains on CN’s Prairie North Line both sides of Dauphin.  So come along with us as some of the longest trains on this continent thunder across the Canadian Prairie or growl up the grade out of the Assiniboine River Valley in October of 2015 on CN’s Western Manitoba Mains.  This DVD is a two disk set.  It is 2 hours and forty minutes in length and can be watched with or without narration.

Price: $40.95

Attributes

  • Video Format: DVD

Canadian Pacific’s Western Manitoba Mains Blu-Ray

This program shows the trains and operations on both of Canadian Pacific’s main lines in western Manitoba – the transcontinental main line west of Brandon and west of Minnedosa on their North Line that diverges from the main at Portage La Prairie, just west of Winnipeg.  Pushed by the improvements in productivity made by rival Canadian National, Canadian Pacific has fought back by adding hundreds of new alternating current diesels, new higher capacity cars, and longer trains with distributed power thundering across the Canadian prairie.  And this program showcases the changes since Hunter Harrison arrived as president in 2012 after an investment firm supporting him gained control over the board of directors.  CP recently achieved its lowest operating ratio ever.  All of this is showcased on Canadian Pacific’s main lines across the Manitoba prairie.  CP’s main line west of the crew change point of Brandon handles all of their transcontinental traffic between eastern and western Canada.  CP’s North Line that diverges from the main line at Portage La Prairie, west of Winnipeg, has been recently upgraded and handles the bourgeoning crude oil traffic from Alberta in addition to potash, wheat and other agricultural goods from Saskatchewan and Alberta.  This video shows over twenty four hours of action on both of CP’s main lines in western Manitoba in October of 2015.   This program is 72 minutes in length and can be watched with or without narration.

Price: $30.95

Attributes

  • Video Format: Blu-Ray

Canadian Pacific’s Western Manitoba Mains DVD

This program shows the trains and operations on both of Canadian Pacific’s main lines in western Manitoba – the transcontinental main line west of Brandon and west of Minnedosa on their North Line that diverges from the main at Portage La Prairie, just west of Winnipeg.  Pushed by the improvements in productivity made by rival Canadian National, Canadian Pacific has fought back by adding hundreds of new alternating current diesels, new higher capacity cars, and longer trains with distributed power thundering across the Canadian prairie.  And this program showcases the changes since Hunter Harrison arrived as president in 2012 after an investment firm supporting him gained control over the board of directors.  CP recently achieved its lowest operating ratio ever.  All of this is showcased on Canadian Pacific’s main lines across the Manitoba prairie.  CP’s main line west of the crew change point of Brandon handles all of their transcontinental traffic between eastern and western Canada.  CP’s North Line that diverges from the main line at Portage La Prairie, west of Winnipeg, has been recently upgraded and handles the bourgeoning crude oil traffic from Alberta in addition to potash, wheat and other agricultural goods from Saskatchewan and Alberta.  This video shows over twenty four hours of action on both of CP’s main lines in western Manitoba in October of 2015.   This program is 72 minutes in length and can be watched with or without narration.

Price: $30.95

Attributes

  • Video Format: DVD

CSX's ex-New York Central Rochester Sub Blu-Ray

The original New York Central line across upstate New York between Albany and Lake Erie at Buffalo is certainly one of the more historic and influential rail lines in this country. Today CSX is the owner and operator of this celebrated line. This program shows over twenty-four hours of fast paced action in July of 2015 on the former New York Central, nee Penn Central and Conrail water level route west of Rochester, New York between the junction with the former West Shore Railroad bypass around Rochester at Chili and South Byron, just east of Batavia on Bergen Hill. This is part of CSX’s Rochester Subdivision that extends from Rochester to Buffalo. CSX has operated their share of Conrail for nearly sixteen years and now has their own stamp on this historic line. There have been many changes to the makeup of the trains and operations on this line since our last look fifteen years ago. CSX’s two track main line across upstate New York carries almost all of their traffic between the New York City metropolitan area and the Midwest including the recently added crude oil trains for terminals and refineries in Albany, New Jersey, and adjoining Philadelphia. Amtrak’s Lake Shore Limited and Empire Service trains also grace this line. This DVD is a 2 disk set. It is 1 hour and 55 minutes in length and can be watched with or without narration.

Price: $34.95

Attributes

  • Video Format: Blu-Ray

CSX's ex-New York Central Rochester Sub DVD

The original New York Central line across upstate New York between Albany and Lake Erie at Buffalo is certainly one of the more historic and influential rail lines in this country. Today CSX is the owner and operator of this celebrated line. This program shows over twenty-four hours of fast paced action in July of 2015 on the former New York Central, nee Penn Central and Conrail water level route west of Rochester, New York between the junction with the former West Shore Railroad bypass around Rochester at Chili and South Byron, just east of Batavia on Bergen Hill. This is part of CSX’s Rochester Subdivision that extends from Rochester to Buffalo. CSX has operated their share of Conrail for nearly sixteen years and now has their own stamp on this historic line. There have been many changes to the makeup of the trains and operations on this line since our last look fifteen years ago. CSX’s two track main line across upstate New York carries almost all of their traffic between the New York City metropolitan area and the Midwest including the recently added crude oil trains for terminals and refineries in Albany, New Jersey, and adjoining Philadelphia. Amtrak’s Lake Shore Limited and Empire Service trains also grace this line. This DVD is a 2 disk set. It is 1 hour and 55 minutes in length and can be watched with or without narration.

Price: $34.95

Attributes

  • Video Format: DVD

CSX's ex-New York Central Rochester Sub

The original New York Central line across upstate New York between Albany and Lake Erie at Buffalo is certainly one of the more historic and influential rail lines in this country. Today CSX is the owner and operator of this celebrated line. This program shows over twenty-four hours of fast paced action in July of 2015 on the former New York Central, nee Penn Central and Conrail water level route west of Rochester, New York between the junction with the former West Shore Railroad bypass around Rochester at Chili and South Byron, just east of Batavia on Bergen Hill. This is part of CSX’s Rochester Subdivision that extends from Rochester to Buffalo. CSX has operated their share of Conrail for nearly sixteen years and now has their own stamp on this historic line. There have been many changes to the makeup of the trains and operations on this line since our last look fifteen years ago. CSX’s two track main line across upstate New York carries almost all of their traffic between the New York City metropolitan area and the Midwest including the recently added crude oil trains for terminals and refineries in Albany, New Jersey, and adjoining Philadelphia. Amtrak’s Lake Shore Limited and Empire Service trains also grace this line. This DVD is a 2 disk set. It is 1 hour and 55 minutes in length and can be watched with or without narration.

Price: $34.94

Norfolk Southern's Funnel east of Knoxville Blu-Ray

This program shows all the trains for over thirty hours of action in April of 2015 on Norfolk Southern’s Bristol Line immediately east of Knoxville, Tennessee. Where we videotaped is a sort of funnel as trains from two other former Southern Railway routes join together for the run into Knoxville where NS has a large hump classification yard. This historic antebellum line between Knoxville and Bristol was constructed by the East Tennessee and Virginia. It was one of only two east-west rail lines joining the Confederacy together and later was on the main stem of the Tennessee Division of the Southern Railway System. Today this line is in Norfolk Southern’s Central Division and is an integral part of their emerging Crescent Corridor between the Northeast and the Mississippi River gateways of Memphis and New Orleans. This critical section of NS’s Bristol Line east of Knoxville sees a neat mix of manifests, coal, and intermodal trains. This DVD is 49 minutes in length and can be watched with or without narration.

Price: $28.95

Attributes

  • Video Format: Blu-Ray

Norfolk Southern's Funnel east of Knoxville DVD

This program shows all the trains for over thirty hours of action in April of 2015 on Norfolk Southern’s Bristol Line immediately east of Knoxville, Tennessee. Where we videotaped is a sort of funnel as trains from two other former Southern Railway routes join together for the run into Knoxville where NS has a large hump classification yard. This historic antebellum line between Knoxville and Bristol was constructed by the East Tennessee and Virginia. It was one of only two east-west rail lines joining the Confederacy together and later was on the main stem of the Tennessee Division of the Southern Railway System. Today this line is in Norfolk Southern’s Central Division and is an integral part of their emerging Crescent Corridor between the Northeast and the Mississippi River gateways of Memphis and New Orleans. This critical section of NS’s Bristol Line east of Knoxville sees a neat mix of manifests, coal, and intermodal trains. This DVD is 49 minutes in length and can be watched with or without narration.

Price: $28.95

Attributes

  • Video Format: DVD

Norfolk Southern's Funnel east of Knoxville

This program shows all the trains for over thirty hours of action in April of 2015 on Norfolk Southern’s Bristol Line immediately east of Knoxville, Tennessee. Where we videotaped is a sort of funnel as trains from two other former Southern Railway routes join together for the run into Knoxville where NS has a large hump classification yard. This historic antebellum line between Knoxville and Bristol was constructed by the East Tennessee and Virginia. It was one of only two east-west rail lines joining the Confederacy together and later was on the main stem of the Tennessee Division of the Southern Railway System. Today this line is in Norfolk Southern’s Central Division and is an integral part of their emerging Crescent Corridor between the Northeast and the Mississippi River gateways of Memphis and New Orleans. This critical section of NS’s Bristol Line east of Knoxville sees a neat mix of manifests, coal, and intermodal trains. This DVD can be watched with or without narration.

Price: $28.95

CN's ex-EJ&E Leithton Subdivision Blu-Ray

Since its takeover by Canadian National in early 2009, the former Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway that went around, not through Chicago, has undergone more changes than any rail line in this country. The acquisition of the EJ&E was quite contentions with many tony communities protesting the big increase in the number and length of the trains that would be running through their towns. Traffic on the former EJ&E Western Subdivision north of Joliet has quadrupled from what it was before the takeover. With the completion of the new connections with the former Illinois Central main line at Matteson, this line now hosts most of CN’s traffic from western Canada and Wisconsin for the Chicago gateway and beyond. Both BNSF and Union Pacific have overhead rights for certain trains on this busy section of track. CN, as they prefer to be called, runs trains over two miles in length and up to 22,000 tons in weight on this part of the former EJ&E including many with distributed power. This program shows twenty-four hours of action on the former EJ&E northwest of Joliet around Plainfield, Illinois in April of 2015. This DVD is one hour and 52 minutes in length and can be watched with or without narration.

Price: $34.95

Attributes

  • Video Format: Blu-Ray